Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Review - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)

In 2008, Stephenie Meyer's popular romance book was brought to life on the big screen. Even though the film received poor reviews from critics, Twilight pleased its target audience and the devoted fans of the book. Eventually a worldwide craze followed. The werewolf vs vampire love triangle became the talk of the town and movie fans were drawn into this craze whether you liked the franchise or not. To cash in at the box office, they decided to split the last book of the saga in half. Breaking Dawn Part 1 was horrible so I was very curious to see how they would wrap this one up.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is the "epic" conclusion of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) love story. Well it's "epic" in a Twilight sense because the whole franchise really isnt that good. Anyways, Bella finally gets her dream of being a vampire so she wont risk losing the love of her life Edward again. Furthermore she gets rid of Mr.Wolf aka Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). As you can recall, Bella was never really that into Jacob although he loved her. Furthermore in Breaking Dawn Part 1, we saw Jacob imprint on Bella's newborn daughter Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy) so they will pretty much end up together. It's a werewolf bond thing and I thought it was pretty creepy and perverted. Okay I'm just kidding.

Well, Bella seems to be happy at the beginning of this movie. She slowly adjusts to her new vampire strength and powers and all seems well in the Cullen household. Well... until news of Renesmee is spread to the furious Volturi. With the aid of the wolves and other vampire covens, the Cullens must do all they can to protect Bella and Edward's precious young one.

Well what can I say..... I expectedThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 to NOT be much different from the previous films in the series and to some extent it wasn't. The film consisted of its usual subpar acting, cheesy dialogues, clueless characters but to be honest, it was LESS cringing than its predecessors. Yes I actually saw a little more effort than in the previous film. I believe this is because we get to see a lot less of the newlyweds Mr and Mrs. Cullen on the screen, as we are introduced to new characters. Director Bill Condon did some work BUT I still felt this movie was a bit too lengthy. The ongoing cheesy dialogue started to get annoying so therefore I felt a bit bored midway to the point of falling asleep.

Thankfully the movie started to pick up towards the end when Cullens crew finally confronted the infamous Volturi. What I found a little bit funny was how this movie became so "X-men" like, especially with the new characters introduced. You'll see a lot of different powers being showcased which will definitely appease to audiences. The highlight of this film however is the end. I'm not sure if this is actually an aspect of the book itself but I was impressed with the twist which unraveled. It gets you all riled up for that face-off but instead this movie will either leave you with a "Wow that was impressive" feel or "That was the worst ending ever" feel. But surpringly I liked it.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 did bring over some elements from the previous films which made it pretty unlikable to non-devoted fans, but the presence of more "action" will definitely appease to audiences. The leads Kristen and Robert were dreadful in all five films but that didnt stop this franchise from ripping apart the box office whenever it was released. It's not as awful as I thought it would have been but hey I'm just glad it's over. Reboot anyone?

Rating: 6.5/10

Movies Also Watched:

Extracted (2012)
An interesting story of a man who gets trapped inside the memories of an alleged murderer. Extracted has a cool premise which is influenced by films such as Inception and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but the dreariness of the lead actors somewhat drowns this interesting concept. - 6.5/10

Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012)
A heartwarming tale of six year old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) who faces dire consequences at a tender age. Her bayou is flooded, her father's health is failing and once thought extinct creatures roam the land. A powerful performance by Quvenzhane Wallis in this grimy, well-acted and heartfelt story. Even her narration was top-notch. I totally adored the spirit and chemistry of the residents of "The Bathtub". However the creatures seemed a bit out of place and irrelevant in the story but overall this film showcased a lot of heart, which I liked. - 8/10

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
Another installment in the Universal Soldiers franchise and this one was better than I expected. Jean Claude Van Damme continues his rejuvenated career in this violent and graphic action thriller about a man searching for answers to his family's death. Jean Claude was a creepy badass and the brutal action sequences plus story twists will keep you entertained. - 7/10

Frailty (2002)
A movie that toys with the concept of schizophrenia and does so quite well. Bill Paxton delivers a haunting performance of seemingly delusional man bent on fulfilling God's "work". The topic of Religion is shone in a debatable light and as the film goes along, the story unravels impressive twists. What may seem like a adorable family story transcends into a thought-provoking dark tale. - 8.5/10

Lost In Translation (2003)
A story of how two strangers formed an unlikely bond in a further unlikely place. We are drowned into Bill Murray's and Scarlett Johansson's melancholy mood of loneliness but still feel connected to each character nonetheless. Action speaks louder than words and that was the case in this film. They didnt express their true feelings to one another but you could see it through their interactions. Also laced with humor, I loved the fact that we are introduced to aspects of the Japanese culture and the Japanese cast was just as awesome. - 9/10

The Great Escape (1963)
Based on true events, The Great Escape is a story of how a group of POWs emprisoned in a Nazi camp, engineered an escape. Director John Sturgess was somehow able to transform this true event into a fun, tense and artistic war epic. Good performances and solid writing, Steve McQueen was very impressive and pretty much stole the show with his adorable smirks and his crazy bike ride to "freedom". Amusing from start to finish. - 10/10